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ddrake 's review for:
The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World
by David Deutsch
Wow, what a brain-burner!
This book is one of the most intensely idea-packed books I can recall. Philosophy of science, cultural evolution, epistemology, human evolution, quantum physics, the philosophy of beauty, social choice theory. It's all there.
Deutsch's message is a nuanced but unbounded (he's serious about the "infinity" part) form of optimism: that there is no limit to human ability of generate new ideas and new explanations, and therefore all problems are solvable. Of course, mustering the ability to actually solve our problems is a different matter. And our new ideas, new explanations, and solutions to our current problems will generate yet more problems. But also further ideas and explanations to solve those problems -- and so on...ad infinitum. We are at the beginning of infinity.
This book is one of the most intensely idea-packed books I can recall. Philosophy of science, cultural evolution, epistemology, human evolution, quantum physics, the philosophy of beauty, social choice theory. It's all there.
Deutsch's message is a nuanced but unbounded (he's serious about the "infinity" part) form of optimism: that there is no limit to human ability of generate new ideas and new explanations, and therefore all problems are solvable. Of course, mustering the ability to actually solve our problems is a different matter. And our new ideas, new explanations, and solutions to our current problems will generate yet more problems. But also further ideas and explanations to solve those problems -- and so on...ad infinitum. We are at the beginning of infinity.